Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere generally considered to be caused by the use of fossil carbon fuels forms an insulating gas layer or blanket which determines the average temperature of the Earth's biosphere. Due to the build up of the carbon dioxide layer in the atmosphere, the biosphere is overheating as a result of the “greenhouse” effect of this layer thereby producing global warming. Reducing the rate at which the layer is increasing in thickness for example by substantially reducing the rate of use of fossil carbon fuels would be insufficient in itself to reduce this heating effect or stop progressive global warming.
The only current practical, economic and efficient way of removing accumulated excess greenhouse gasses is to sequester carbon dioxide in agricultural soils. In this process carbon in atmospheric carbon dioxide is converted into carbon in organic matter in the soil known as soil humus. Production of soil humus which makes poor soils fertile reduces the need to use strong agricultural chemicals which tends to hinder rapid formation of fertile soil.
To encourage the use of carbon dioxide sequestration, a scheme has been proposed whereby farmers are paid remuneration based on the tonnage of the carbon dioxide removed from the air by converting it into soil humus or organic matter. One disadvantage of this scheme is that it is difficult to measure organic carbon content in soil.
Current methods for measuring carbon content in the soil typically involve the taking of a small sample of soil and testing that sample using chemical analysis or heating in an oven to provide an indication of carbon content in a particular area. The results from these tests are then extrapolated to produce a measure of carbon content over a whole area from which the sample is taken. The current methods are not particularly effective or accurate.
It would be desirable therefore if an improved method and apparatus was available which facilitated the calculation of organic carbon content in soil and variations in organic carbon content in soil over time.